The SideshowConservative quasi-celebrities hawk projects at CPAC
This week, conservatives are holding their annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. It's been described in some circles as the "conservative Woodstock," because thousands of people travel from around the country to attend workshops and listen to speeches from some of the movement's biggest players.
In addition to candidates and party bigwigs, there is a class of minor celebrities who show at CPAC to hawk various personal projects. If you walk the halls of the Washington, D.C. Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, you stand a chance of running into former "Growing Pains" star Kirk Cameron, ex-"Love Connection" host Chuck Woolery or even Michelle Duggar, best-known for giving birth to 19 children. And this isn't the first CPAC for Stephen Baldwin.
But for whatever exposure the event offers these quasi-stars, it also inconveniently illustrates the challenges of being a Hollywood conservative. The convention cottage industry can look like a depressing circuit. Just ask actor Ernie Hudson of Ghostbusters fame.
Furthermore, Hollywood is a favorite target of the conservative movement. There are even entire news sites dedicated to exposing what many on the right feel is a hostile culture in the entertainment world. That wariness often makes it difficult for conservatives to turn up the star wattage at their political events. So what exactly brings out the few Hollywood faces willing to align themselves with their conservative principles?
Cameron was attending CPAC to promote his new documentary Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure. In the movie's trailer, Cameron states, "As a father of six, I look around and all signs tell me something is sick in the soul of our country."
Woolery was attending CPAC for a more explicitly political reason. He's promoting a group called Reset Congress that aims to elect members of Congress who share the group's views on the Constitution. Mediaite taped an entertaining interview with him.
Baldwin, meanwhile, has been to CPAC before. Last year, he hosted XPAC, where CPAC attendees could blow off some steam and play video games.
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